Shoe-former.



AAAAAAAAA 0N PATENTED APR. 24, 1906 F I L E D A U G 2 1 9 0 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT UFFIC SHOE-FORMER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed August 2,1905. Serial No. 272,381

To (L715 'uh/Im it 71ml concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED H. Hroorxs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Formers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in what are known as shoe-formers, designed particularly to be inserted into a shoe for the purpose of filling out the interior thereof and maintaining the upper in a smooth condition.

In exhibiting shoes in slrow-windows and stores or elsewhere for sale it is desirable to present the same in an attractive manner, and, furthermore, the life of shoes in use by the wearer is enhanced and the shoes are maintained in the best possible condition if when not being worn they are occupied by a former to maintain their shape and prevent the formation of wrinkles in the upper. It is for such uses that my improved former is more particularly designed. It may have other uses, however, and it will be understood that I claim my invention for whatever use it may be adapted.

According to my invention and by the improved construction of the former it is adapted to occupy and fill out shoes of different length and is adapted to compensate for increase in the dimensions of shoes after they have been worn for some time. In actual use of boots and shoes after they have been Worn for a greater or lesser period the upper stretches somewhat. A shoe-former according to my invention will compensate for this increase in dimensions and will lengthen itself in the shoe and completely fill the same out.

With these objects in view my invention consists in a shoe-former, as hereinafter described and illustrated. That which I regard as new will be set forth in the appended clauses of claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal view. Fig. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

In the said drawings, the reference -nu meral 1 indicates generally the improved shoe-former, composed of two separate and distinct parts-a fore part 1 and a heel part 1 -which may in respect of their configuration or shape be of any of the known or usual types. The contiguous faces 1 1 of the fore and heel parts are slanted, as shown, whereby when the heel part is swung upon its pivotal connection with the tore part, as hereinafter described, it will move directly away from the heel part of the insole of the boot or shoe without any possibility of digging into or scratching or marring the same. The breast portion of the former is cut a\\'ay, as shown at 1 and 1, to permit the front portion of the heel part to pass over the rear portion of the fore part when the heel part is swung upon its pivot to shorten the former and permit its ready insertion into and withdrawal from the shoe. The fore part 1 of the shoe is provided with a bore or socket 2, extending lon gitudinally thereof, within which is seated at suitable spring 3, shown as a spiral spring, and within this bore is movably arranged a piston 4, impinging at one end upon the spring 3. The piston is conlined within. the bore 2 and allowed the proper degree of movement therein by means of a pin or other suitable device 5, extending laterally into the fore part 1 of the former and engaging an elongated recess 6 in the piston 4;. This pin 5 serves to limit the movement of the piston within the bore and also to maintain the same in operative relation to the fore part of the former.

Rigidly secured to and projecting forwardly from the heel part 1 is an arm 7, the exposed end of which is disposed in a seat 8 in the piston 4 and is pivotally connected to said piston by means of a suitable pivot-p in 9, whereby the heel part is pivotally connected to the fore part of the shoe-former and may be swung upon said pivot, upwardly to shorten the length of the entire device to fa cilitate the insertion thereof into and withdrawal from a shoe and downwardly to elongate the same when fully inserted into the shoe to completely lill out the shoe.

The upper edge of the arm 7 projecting from the heel part of the former extends above the piston 4, as shown at 10, and fits in between the walls of a slot 1 1, provided in the fore part 1' of the former, constituting a lock of the tongue-arul-groovc type, whereby axial twisting of the heel part with relation to the fore part is prevented. The lower edge of the arm 7 rests against the bottom wall of the seat 8, which constitutes a stop to prevent the heel part falling below the proper line with relation to the fore part and is of material advantage in that when the device is inserted into a shoe the tendency of the spring 3 is to force the heel part away from the fore part, and this action being resisted by the shoe itself would tend to cause the device to buckle or bow upward at the point of pivotal connection of the two parts thereof, causing the heel part to approach the fore part, thus shortening the device as an entirety and detracting from its effectiveness as a filler-out former.

By my invention I provide a shoe-former which is of novel and simple construction, economical of manufacture, and which is eflicient in use, possesses guards against possible disarrangement of parts, and which will serve for effective use in shoes of different length, and which will also compensate for the increase in the size of a shoe occasioned by wear thereof.

The heel part of the shoe will preferably be, as shown, provided with a handle 12 to facilitate manipulation thereof.

The several elements of my improved shoe-former may be assembled in any convenient way. A suitable manner of construction and assembly is that the former prior to being severed into a fore part and heel part may be provided with slots or kerfs in which the arm 7 is arranged in the heel part and in which the forward extremity of said arm moves in the fore part by means of a circular saw, that then the structure be divided into a fore and heel part on the diagonal line illustrated in Fig. 1, that then the piston 4 and the arm 7 be pivotally connected, 'and the arm arranged in the kerf in the heel part of the former and secured therein by means of pins or other suitable device's.

The exact point of attachment of the arm to the heel part can be ascertained by fitting the heel part to the fore part, so that they will be in proper vertical alinement. Then the spring 3 may be inserted in the socket 2, and then the plunger inserted insaid socket and the pin 5 introduced laterally through the fore part of the former through the recess 6 in the piston. The foregoing suggestion of the manner of construction and assembly is merely illustrative. Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a shoe-former, the combination with a fore part and a separate heel part, one of said parts provided with a spring-pressed plunger and a slot, an arm connected to and projecting from the other part, pivotally connected with said plunger and engaging the walls of said slot, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a shoe-former, the combination with a fore part provided with a bore and a slot, of a separate heel part, a spring-pressed plunger arranged in the bore of the fore part, and an arm connected to and projecting from the heel part, pivotally connected to said plunger and engaging the walls of the slot in the fore art.

p In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRED H. HIGGINS.

Witnesses:

HENRY E. GODDARD, ARTHUR L. RICH. 

